Putin: Ukraine Army In Fact ‘NATO Legion’

Russian President Vladimir Putin says a “NATO legion” is fighting against rebel forces in eastern Ukraine, and that its goal is to contain Russia.

“We often say: Ukrainian army, Ukrainian army. But who is really fighting [in eastern Ukraine]? There are official divisions of the armed forces but to a great extent there are so-called voluntary nationalist battalions. This is not even an army, it’s a foreign legion. In this case it’s a foreign NATO legion,” Putin said, speaking before university students in the city of St. Petersburg.

“[They are there] with the aim of geopolitically containing Russia, which is absolutely not in the national interests of the Ukrainian people,” he said.

Putin also accused Kyiv of refusing to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine peacefully.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Putin’s claim as “nonsense.”
“The statement that there is a NATO legion in Ukraine is nonsense. There is no NATO legion,” Stoltenberg said Monday, speaking to reporters following an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. “The foreign forces in Ukraine are Russian,” he added.

‘Stop destabilizing Ukraine’

Stoltenberg also called on Russia to stop destabilizing Ukraine and join efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis in the country’s east.

“We call on Russia to stop its support for the separatists immediately, to stop destabilizing Ukraine and to respect its international commitments,” said he.

Ukrainian servicemen guard their position in the village of Luhanska, Luhansk region, Jan. 24, 2015.
Ukrainian servicemen guard their position in the village of Luhanska, Luhansk region, Jan. 24, 2015.
The extraordinary meeting was reportedly called at Ukraine’s request in the wake of a recent attack on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, Donetsk region. The Saturday attack, which targeted residential areas, killed 30 civilians and wounded around 100.

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Video evidence shows US forces or Blackwater USA (now Academi) mercenaries in unmarked uniforms supporting Ukraine’s military. When confronted, speaking in English with clear American accents.

It bears stressing. No evidence whatever suggests Russian troops in Ukraine. Or support for rebel fighters. Plenty shows direct US involvement. It’s “not an army, but a foreign legion. In this case a foreign (US-controlled) NATO legion, which, of course, doesn’t pursue the national interests of Ukraine.”

Washington and Kiev partner in each other’s crimes. One fascist regime supports another.

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